Pumping apparatus for sewage and other liquids



Dec. 16, 1930. Q DURDIN'VJR 1,785,480

PUMPING APPARATUS FOR SEWAGE AND owrma LIQUIDS Filed April 27, 1927 2Sheets-Sheet 1 7 lu/enivrl Dec. 16, 1930. 'A. c. DURDIN. JR I 1,785,480

PUMPING APPARAI U$ FOR SEWAGE AND OTHER LIQUIDS Filed April 27,- 1927 I2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 16, 1930 aueus'rus c. nuanm, In, or,CHICAGO, ILLIuoIs 'runrme mum roR'sEwAeE am) o'rnnn mums Applicationfiled Apri1 27,

This invention relates to apparatus for pumping sewage and other liquidscontaining more or less solid substances. A centrifugal pump is usuallyemployed in eppar'atus of this kind and one of the objects of thepresent invention is to provide improved means for preventing the moreor less solid substances from entering the pump and clogging the' sameor causing serious injury thereto. Another object is to provide pumpinga paratus of this kind wherein a plurality Q centrifugal pumps may beconnected to or interposed in the conduit for the sewage water or otherliquids and having means whereby the pumps operate alternately or in aregular sequence, thereby reducing the wear and tear upon the pumps.Another ob ject is to provide means in pumping apparatus of this'kind inwhich the control means for the pumps operate'to start more than onepump in case the incoming liquid exceeds the capacity of onepump.Another object is to provide aseparating device or straining de-' vicefor each pump interposed between the inlet to the apparatus and the pumpand arranged in such manner that the incoming material is strained orscreened before entering the pump and thereafter discharged from theapparatus when the amp is started, whereby the pump is not en angered orliable tobecome clogged.

With these" andother objects and tages in view, this invention consistsin a pumping apparatus embodying a tank or other receptacle in which iscontained one ,or

more motor operated centrifugal pumps Having its inlet openingcommunicating with the interiorof the tank and a separator or strainerfor each pump interposed in the inlet 4 pipe of the tank and connectedwith the ,dis-

charge end of each pump,whereby the more. or less solid substancesentering the tank,

are separated or strained from the liquid before theliquid enters thepumps. The, in- 4 ven'tion further consists in pumping appara-' tusembodying a tank or receptacle and a plurality of alternately actingpumps therein capable of acting simultaneously,'a nd a separator orstrainer interposed in the inlet 5 conduit of the tank, andconnectedwith the advan connects with the.v sewage water 1927. Serialm5. 187,007.

discharge ends of the pumps. It further consists in the severalnovelfeatures of construc- -tion,-arrangement and combination of partshereinafter fully set forth and claimed.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the drawings accompanying thisspecification, in which:

'Fig. 1 is a View, partly in side-elevation and partly in centralvertical section, of pumping apparatus embodying a simple form of thepresentinvention; Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line 22 ofFig. 1; Fig. 3 is an elevation of the apparatus looking in the directionof the arrow 3 in Fig. 1 and showing the tank partly broken out toillustrate parts that Wouldotherwise I be hidden from View; Fig.4 isadetail View of a certain control device for effecting alternate andsimultaneous action of the two pumps employed; Fig. 5 is a detailvertical cross section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig.

- 3; Fig. v6 is a detail horizontal section taken on the line '6-6 ofFig. 1, and Fig. 7 is a detail vertical cross section taken on the line77 of Fig. 1.

Referring to said drawing, the reference character 10. designates a tankor other re,-' .ceptacle of suitable size having a cover 11 upon whichthe pump motor or motors 12- are mounted. Two centrifugal pumps 13, 8are illustrated and said pumps are. oontainefl in the tank or receptacle10 and locatedadjacent 'the bottom thereof. Each pump is connected to anassociated motor 12 by a. pump shaft 14 contained in a pipe or otherhouslng 15 which may also form the sup'porting connection for the pump.The

iignlet end of each ,pum is indicated at 16 and its discharge endat 1While operating as a pump,-the liquid enters the pump through 9 theinlet end 16 and discharges thrdhgh the discharge end 17, but whenthepump is idle, liquid may flow through it from the, i

discharge end 17 to the inlet end 16. At

such times the pump merely acts as a con-' duit for the flow of liquidthrough it. Extending throu h the Wall of the tank; or receptacle 10 ist e inlet fitting18, which."

I v i e. (not 1 shown) or other conduit employed or con- 9" i ductingthe sewage water or other liquids to the pumping ap aratus. When twopumps are emplo ed 1n an outfit the inletfitting is in the orm of a Y,each of the branches 18 of which communicates with the discharge end 17of a pump through a conduit, which maycomprise a pipe 19, a check valveinterposed between the inlet fitting 18- and pipe-19, a fitting 22, anda separator or strainer 21. The check valves 20 open in a directiontoward the pumps, whereby the incoming material may flow through saidconduits and through the pumps and thereby enter the tank through theinlet ends of the pumps, the more or less solid substances beingseparated or strained from the liquid during the passage thereof throughthe separators of strainers 21. In accordance with the form of theinvention illustrated'in the drawing each pipe '19 is connected to itsassociated separator or strainer 21, by a T fitting 22, and one branchof each T fitting 22 is connected to a discharge pipe 23, which leadsout through the tank or receptacle 10 and is connected to the dischar epipe or conduit (not shown) of the system y a fitting 24.

While the construction of the separators or strainers 21 is immaterialto this inven- -through the perforations in the screen 21"' "and pass onthrough the discharge end of the pump and enter the tank through'th'einlet 1 end of the pump, whereas more or less solid substances will becaught in the cylindrical screen and held therein until subsequentlydischarged through tlie'open end thereof.

When a plurality of pumps are used, as for instance two pumps, it isprefera Is to have only one pump operate at a tiine'so as to minimizethe wear on .the pumps and it is also desirous that the pumps operatealternately and that bothoperate in unison if the material accumulatesin the tank faster than it can be discharged by one ofthe pumps.

In other words if the capacity of one-pump is not suflicient todischarge the accumulatedmatter as rapidly as it .accumulates in thetank then both pumps are started to avoid any backing up of theaccumulated mater1al. I

The means shown for controlling the 0 eration-of the two pumps,comprises two oat operated switch mechanisms 25, 25 one for h float rod27.having spaced buttons 28,29- thereon and arranged for engagement.with' the switch lever 30 and having in the tank and on the lower end ofthe float rod a ball float 31. The switch is supported by a standard orother support 32 mounted on the cover of the tank. Obviously as theliquid rises in the tank each float is carried upward and at a certainpredetermined upper level the button 28 engages the switch lever 30 andcloses the switch thereby starting the motor. In order to have themotors operate alternately, a control device 33 is provided upon eachfloat rod, which device is constructed and arranged to make theassociated float. rod efl'ective for the purpose of closing the switchonly upon the alternate upstrokes of the float rod. One form of controldevice is more fully shown and described inan application for patent onmeans for operating electric switches and other mechanism, filed by meonDecember 29, 1926, Serial No. 157,856. Briefly each float rodcomprises an upper section 27*. and a lower section 27", the lower onehaving the hollow, cylindrical member 33 of the.control;devic e securedto it and the upper one having the member 33 secured to it. The annularwall of the member 33*v may be. formed with a continuous groove or trackhaving long sections 33? and short sections 33 connected thereto by obliue sections, in which travels the other mem r. 33",-which usuallycomprises a pin on theupper'rod section 27. :The arrange-.-

ment is such'that when thelower section-27F of the rod-27 of the floatrod moves upward,

during one of its strokes, a relatively short section: o fithe groove ortrack is moved relative'to the pin 33 before the lower end of.

the groove or track engages the pin and"lifts..-

.the upper section 27 of the rod; thereby closing the switch, and.startingthe associated pump anddischarging the liquid. As

theli'q'uid lowers, the float. and float rod move down and thecylindrical member 33" of the control devicejmoves down relative to thepin 33" (the upper: float rod section bein held stationary by theengagement of the utton 29 with the switch ever 30 As the-pin approachesthe upper 'end of t e short ove, it encountersganoblique portion anenters the top portion of the groove. When the float nears its lowerlimit it moves the entire float rod down-thereby opening the switch andstopping-the associated motor. During the next-up stroke of the floatrodthe pin enters the relatively long partof the oov or track'so that whilethe-lower sectlon' of the float. rodmay be-li-fted to the samepred'e-'15. be operated, whereby the tank may be empthereto during eachalternate up strokeof the float and float rod. By properly setting thecontrol devices 33, the switch to one pump isthe bolts are tig tened upleak proo joints closed by the control apparatus each time that theliquid reaches a predetermined level in the tank and the umps arethereby operated alternatel T l ie arrangement is such however, that111C388 the liquid in the tank rises above the predetermined level, bothfloats and float rods will thereupon be lifted higher and consequentlythe inactive one will be lifted far enough tocclose the switchcontrolled thereby, thus causing both motors to be set in operation andboth pumps to tied as rapidly as it fills.

In cases of installation, where the tank is furnished by one concern andthe pumps and other apparatus are furnished by another concern, itsometimes happens that the pipe connections between the inlet to thetank and the pumps do not line up perfectly and to compensate for anymisalignment, I provide special joints between the pipes 19 and checkvalves 20, and between said pipes and the fittings 22. As shown in Fig.6, aper tured plates 34 are secured to the ends of each check valve 20and fitting 22 which plates contain central openings a trifle larger ndiameter than the diameter of the pipe 19, whereby the pipe may have aconslderable amount of vertical and horizontal play with respect to thecheck valve and fitting. Collars 35 encircle the pipe 19 and areconnected to the check valve and fitting 22 by bolts 36, and packing rins 37 are'placed between the plates 34 and co la-rs 35 and forced intocon-. tact with the pipe19 by tightening up the bolts 36. The opposingfaces of the plates 34 and collars 35 have beveled portions surroundingthe central openings thereof, which engage with the acking ringswherebfy when are obtained between the pipe 19 and check valve 20 andfitting 22, regardless of anymisalignment between said arts. Furthermoreb providinga joint of t is character between die check valve 20 dfitting 22 the parts may be readily disco nected 1n the tank in case itbecomes. necessary to remove any part for the "urpose of repair orreplacement. In or or to entirel shut'ofl theinflow, I provide valves38' etween the inlet fittin 18 and check'valves 20 which may beclosedwhenevernecessary to make repairs.

' tl eachvalve 38 ma com risea- M Convemen y p surrounded-omits sides'bythe cas1ng 2l, the

flatnarrow casing 38 having a removablew1t in the casing and havi an oening'therethroughfor the assaged t liqui i The valve may be closed byremoving the cover and raising the plate sufilciently to close thepassage through'the valve easing.

It is sometimes ne to provide a separate inlet to the tank for liquidsthat are not conducted thereto through the inlet fitting 18 and in suchcases a fitting 39 is provided at one side of the tank which fitting isconnected to .the inlet pipe for such liquids. When an additional inletpipe is used it is preferable to provide a strainer 40 for the inlet ofeach pump 13.

In the operation of the apparatus above described and assuming that bothpumps are stationary, liquid and other matter enters the tank throughthe inlet fitting 18, passes through the check valves 20, pipes 19,fittings 22 and strainers 21,- and the liquid enters the pumps throughtheir discharge ends and escapes into the tank through their inlet ends.

As the liquid rises in the tank, both floats 31 are lifted and one ofthe control devices 33 being set so as to operate one switch lever 30,the float rod actuates the switch lever of one of the switches when itsliquid reaches a certain predetermined level, thereby closing thecircuit to one of the pump motors, whereby the pump associated therewithis started and the liquid withinf. the. tank isv pumped back through thestrainer or separator 21 associated with the pump in operation and theaccumulated foreign matter is discharged with the liquid through thepipe rapidly then one pump may eject it, the other pump will be startedas soon as the level of the liquid in the tank reaches a place where thefloat rod is lifted high enough to close the I switch in the stationarypump motor. When the tank has'been emptied to-a certainpredeterminedrlow level and the" floats lowered sufiiciently to open theswitches, the motors are stopped and remain stationary until the tanksubsequently fills to the predetermined ,hi-ghilevel, whereupon the pumpwhich was previously inactive or put into operation as an emergency, is.now put into ope-ration and the tank' again emptied.- In this mannerthe pumps operate alternately in discharging the contentsof; the tankand simu1taneously in case of necessity.

a screen 21? of cylindrical form and the liquid is discharged backthrough the of the screen, and-around the collected solid mattertherein, there compressing the solid casing 21 and' i'nwards through theapertures thereto.

More or less variation of the exactdetails of construction is possiblewithout departing from the spirit of this invention; I desire,

therefore, not-to limit myself to the exact form of the constructionshown and described, but intend, in the following claims, to point outall of the invention disclosed herein.

. I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

'1. Pumping afparatus comprising in combination a liqui receivingreceptacle, an inlet conduit entering said receptacle and ada ed to beconnected with a source of liqu1d supply, a centrifugal pump containedin said receptacle and having an inlet side and a discharge side withinsaid receptacle, the inlet side opening directly into said receptacle anupright dischar e pipe leadin frbm the discharge si eof the an; andconnected to said lnlet conduit, and a away screen within said pipe andlocated-between the discharge side of the pumpand the conreceptacle andnection between the inlet conduitand discharge pipe. n

2. Pumping apparatus comprising in combination a liquid receivingreceptacle, an inlet conduit entering said receptacle and ada ted to beconnected with a source of liqu1d supply,'an inwardly opening checkvalve in said inlet conduit, a motor driven centrifugal pump containedin said receptacle and havin an inlet side and, a -d1scharge sidewithmsaid receptacle, the inlet side 0 enin directly into the receptacle, an

uprig t disc arge pipe'leadin from the dis-' charge side of the pump anconnected to said inletconduit,'and a cylindrical screen open at the topand contained within the dischar epipe, said screen being locatedbetween t e dlscharge side of the pump and the connection between theinlet conduit and discharge-pipe.

3. Pumping apparatus comprisin in combinationa liquid receiving receptace, an inlet conduit entering' smd receptacle and adapted-to be connectedwith; a source of liquid supply, an intermittently acting motor drivencentrifu al pump contained in said avmg an inlet side and a dischargeside within thereceptacle, the inlet side opening directly into thereceptacle, an upright discharge pipe leading from the discharge side ofthe pump and connected discharge pipe and located between the" dischargeside of the pump and the connection between the inlet conduit and thedischarge I pipe.

4. Pumping apparatus comprising in combination a'liquid receivingreceptacle, an inlet conduit entering said receptacle and adapted to beconnected with a source of liqu1d supply, a pump having its inlet sideopening into said receptacle, a discharge pipe leading away from thedischarge side of said pump and connected to said inlet conduit, and acylindrical screen within said discharge pipe for receiving solidmatter, said screen elng of less diameter than the discharge pipe toaflt'ord an annular water passage around the same and located betweenthe discharge side of the pum and the connection between the inlet conuit and discharge pipe.

5. Pumping a paratus comprising in combination a liqui receivingreceptacle, an inlet conduit adapted to be connected with a source ofliquid supply, a pump having an inlet side connected to said receptacle,a discharge pipe leading away from the discharge side of the ump andconnected to said inlet conduit, and a cylindrical screen within saiddischarge pipe for receiving solid matter, said screen being of lessdiameter than the discharge pipe and located between the discharge sideof the pump and the connection between the inlet conduit and dischargepipe,

there being an annular discharge liquid passage between saidscreen anddischarge pipe and surroundin the screen, said annular passage beingclose at one end.

6.- Pumping a paratus comprisin in combination a liqui receivingreceptac e, an in- .let conduit thereforand adapted to be connected to asource of liquid supply, a pu having its inlet side in communication witsaid receptacle, a discharge pifpe leading away from the-discharge side0 the pump and connected to said inlet conduit, and a cylindrical screenwithin said discharge pipe ferreceiving solid mattentherein, there beingbination a liquid receiving receptacle, an in- -let conduit enteringsaid receptacle and adapted to. be connected with a source of liquidsupply, a centrifugal pump contained in said receptacle and having aninlet side and a discharge side within said receptacle,

the inlet side opening directly'into said receptacle, a discharge pipeleading away from the discharge side of the pump and connected to saidinlet conduit, and a cylin-, fdrical screen within said discharge. pipeof less diameter than the discharge pipe and located between thedischarge; side of the mam-18o pump and the connection between the inletconduit and discharge pipe, there being an annular liquid passagewayinsaid discharge pipe surrounding said screen.

8. Pumping apparatus comprisin in combination a liquid receivingreceptac e, an inlet conduit entering said receptacle and adapted to beconnected with a source of liquid supply, a centrifugal pump having aninlet side communicating-with the interior of said receptacle, adischarge pipe leading away from the discharge side of the pump andconnected to said inlet conduit, and a cylindrical screen within saiddischarge pipe of less diameter than the discharge pipe and locatedbetween the discharge side of the pump and the connectionbetween theinlet conduit and discharge pipe, there being an annular liquidpassageway in said discharge pipe surroundin said screen.

AUG sTUs o. DURDIN, JR.

